Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Welcoming the New Year is a big tradition in this country, and people everywhere celebrate new year's eve literally with a bang! My family is a little different because we would usually spend it at home, with less fun fare compared to our neighbors, since our house help would all go off-duty to be with their respective families. But there were those special occasions where we did celebrate in the hotels or clubs. In fact, one of the most memorable and fun experiences I had growing up was spending new year's eve in a hotel with my parents and brothers. I remember with nostalgia, the music, the laughter and the warm camaraderie among family, friends and yes, even strangers.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The year 2013 will soon end...and I suddenly think, where did all that time go? In fact, it's more like...where did all those years go? Like the song Sunrise, Sunset in the musical Fiddler on the Roof (with a little twist)..."I don't remember growing older...when did I? Wasn't it yesterday, When I was small?"

Monday, January 09, 2012

What is it about a new year that makes people so optimistic? After all, it's just the next day after the 31st of December, it is just another day. January 1 does not really change anything, but the fact that it is the start of a new year gives people a change in perspective, at least for a while and the cycle goes on and on since every new year is like having second chances. It's a fool's belief. Having said this, I realized that unlike most people, I celebrate the new year because it's a tradition and not because it is important to me. I have no expectations because basically my life just goes on, nothing really changes. I am talking here about my life in general, the day to day kind of living and interacting with people. But the many oppressions, sadness, disasters and life challenges of 2011 gave this New Year a new meaning for me. It gave me HOPE. And indeed these first 10 days of 2012 have already shown me that indeed life would be better this year. Praise God.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

I spoke too soon....I think. January 2011 started on a very positive note...and then...uh,oh...

First, how could so many people I know or know of die in one week's time? There was the mother of a fellow doctor and a staff nurse, all within 24 hours of each other...then 2 of our neighbors just dropped dead, also in a span of 1 or 2 days from each other! And before I could even give my respects, last 01-11-2011...it rained! It rained so much from evening until the next day, that it caused flooding all over the city (as well as 3 other neighboring cities and one town), causing mass evacuation of people in several barangays, stranded passengers in stalled vehicles and trapped employees who could not get out of their work place because of the rising flood waters. You can see people getting off buses and walking home in knee high waters...my son walked for about 2 and a half kilometer in the dark (there was a blackout to avoid electrical accidents) in order to get home. My nephew together with 2 vans of students had to seek shelter in the municipal hall of a neighboring town because they cannot enter the city. About 20 students also sought refuge in the hospital. The roads became passable at about 9 PM and my nephew got home almost 11 PM. My own house was not spared. Water covered our front lawn and entered part of our sun room. My brother's house got an even worse deal...with water entering his whole house reaching up to mid-calf. Power returned at about midnight. Thankfully, there were no casualties in our city and evacuation was quick. The last time this happened was in the year 2000...January 14th to be exact...the city was totally unprepared and the damage was horrendous. This time around, the damage was limited to a few roads and property. What was amazing about the whole experience was that the next morning, the sun was out and there was even a beautiful rainbow! It was as if the day before never happened.

And to add to January's woes...my 70 year old uncle fell off the roof of a 3- story house while setting up a TV satellite. Of course, I thought the worst but, this is one lucky guy because all he got were fractured arms, small lacerations in his knee and nose, and some abrasions. I did not know whether I should be sorry for him or laugh, so instead I got angry with him. Wasn't he thinking??? Oh well.

There are still a little more than 2 weeks left to January. Starting tomorrow, it's only going to get better...I know.

Monday, January 03, 2011

Who would have thought that the year that started so-so would turn out to be one amazing year? The troubles and problems that came in 2009 continued to hound me at the beginning of 2010, so I was not really looking forward to another stressful year. My energy level was pretty low and I was at the threshold of another mid-life crisis. Then, quietly, unobtrusively, subtlety...the air changed. I don't exactly remember what or when or how...but suddenly, things seem better and life was actually fun again. And it's not because life was easier or there were less challenges that were faced in 2010...on the contrary, there were more challenges faced at work and in my personal life but somehow, I got through it all feeling positive and energized. Maybe because, attitudes changed and people come together to work for the common good. it has also been a year of reflections and healing...a spiritual year that gave me strength and a stronger faith. And if there is only one lesson that 2010 has given me...nothing is as it seems. I hope this good feeling will continue on for 2011...it is the Year of the Rabbit...a year that promises to be quiet and peaceful year.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

As 2009 ended, and remembering new years past, I had a lightbulb moment when I realized that hey! 2010 is the last year of the first decade of the new millennium. I remember when the year 2000 was approaching, how people were placed in a panic mode because of all the dire predictions being thrown around as early as 1997. I admit I had some blessed candles available "just in case". Of course, nothing really happened...January 1, 2000 was just an ordinary sleepy day (after all that celebrations) and life went on. But since I am a list person, I can't help but think about what I did and did not do...what changed or did not change, what happened and did not happen during the last 9 years? The first 5 years were basically uneventful...I say so because I could not remember anything important, so I presume nothing happened. For posterity and remembrance and before I forget everything I decided to make a list (being a compulsive lister who most of the time misplaces the list). So here's my did this, done that list circa 2000-2010 at no random order...

#1, I joined a marathon(!)...the July 23rd, 2006 Milo Marathon Bacolod Leg. Why in heavens name would I do it....me whose only concession to exercise is read sports magazines. Well, my brother (who runs, of course) made me do it...dared me and because I could not make the usual excuse of not wanting to travel between islands, I said yes. UH-OH...I enlisted for the the 5 k run since I thought it would be too embarassing to run the 3 K and get beaten by the 7 year olds. My preparation included going up and down the stairs 4x, walking about 200 steps around the hospital the day before and then talking about how I am going to finish the race ... oh, and I did walk from Makati Medical Center to Don Bosco about a week before when I was there for a seminar and lest I forget, counting the walk from Glorietta to Greenbelt...should have been enough preparation, don't you think so? For the actual marathon, I did a run/walk but to be honest, it was mostly walk and I would take a little run or was it a hop and a skip(?) when I felt that everyone was overtaking me...heehee. I finished in 59 minutes and 37 seconds, which earned me a certificate...for a non-runner that's not too bad. Of course, you won't see me doing it again, not in a million years.

#2, In October 2006, the new hospital became operational (soft opening) with it's formal inauguration in February 2007. I met the president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and had the privilege of touring her around the hospital, walking arm in arm. Later, we chatted like old friends about nothing important and I got her to sign an old photograph I had with her when she was still DTI secretary. Despite her unpopularity and very wrong political decisions today, I believe that history will judge her more kindly and her political foes will be proven not entirely correct in their opinion of her presidency.

#3, If finding lost friends, relatives, making connections to people count as a "momentous moment", then discovering Facebook (FB, for brevity) is high on the list. And how did I get on the FB wagon? I read an article in the lifestyle section of the newspaper about this new social networking site in July 2007. I was already on Friendster but I was not an active user. I enjoy the internet but basically I use it for research. I don't really chat unless it's an emergency but I like to connect to people through e-mail and I use it a lot. The article said that FB connects you to people as if you see them everyday...and that interested me. So I registered and the rest is history!

#4, I did not have a lot of close friends in med school, nor did I participate in non-school related activities. I went to class, came home, eat, sleep, sometimes "study" and basically just lived each day as it comes till the semester ended and I could go home to my eagerly waiting parents in the province. 25 years later, in December 2005, I decided to attend the 25th alumni homecoming of my med school class and it was during this time seeing how classmates and batchmates interact with each other that I realized compared to them, my memories were few and far in between. Did it matter after 25 years? Not really...it is a fact that I did not have time nor the inclination to develop intimate friendships with many people while in school...I was too busy with other things important to me at that time. But to those classmates who did become my friend in the real sense of the word...today we remain friends, reunion or no reunion. And the best part of that 3 day Silver Jubilee Homecoming in 2005 was not just rediscovering old acquaintances but it was about creating new memories with new found "old" friends.

#5, I now have a case filed against me in the OMBUDSMAN. I don't really want to talk about it except in the proper forum but because not everyone gets to have a case filed against them, so this should be on the list. So in CY 2008, I count among the chosen few and am in "good" company :)

#6, I became a mother again in January 2009 when we decided to permanently foster Ella. She is now a year and a half and thank God, healthy and walking. She says Ma-ma and knows all of us. We consider her our angel, our joy, and God's gift.

#7. This January, we had a surgical mission in the hospital sponsored by local Chinese groups and guess who came to visit? I finally met a Tai-pan, the one who owns and chairs Asia's first commercial airline. He is quite simple and just nods and smiles. This was one time I wished I spoke Fookien or Mandarin.

That's about what I can remember for now...when I do remember more, I can always make........

Thursday, December 03, 2009

This question was posted on Avalon.ph as part of a contest to win a Moleskine Colour a Month Daily Planner in 12 Notebooks 2010. For those who are not familiar with moleskines, this is a brand that identifies a family of notebooks, diaries, and folio books. It was created as a brand in 1997, bringing back to life the legendary notebook used by artists and thinkers over the past two centuries: among them Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Ernest Hemingway. I have a small handy black notebook which I carry everywhere I go and frankly, it is one of my best finds in 2009, one that would count for someone addicted to notebooks like me, as one of those things to be thankful for. The year 2009 has been both a blessing and a stressful time for me...so many things have been happening day in and day out since January that I seem to have lost track of time and suddenly, December is here! But one thing for sure, in everything that has happened to me this year, God's hand was there...He sent me all kinds of angels to make sure that I was okay...during times when I felt my back against the wall...during times when other people needed help and he made me his instrument...during times when I no longer knew what to do to and was full of disappointment, God was ALWAYS there. So, in spite of my many failings, God never failed me. The past years, I have always taken the presence of the Divine Power in my life too much for granted...but this 2009, I give a conscious recognition to God for making all things possible for me. I am eternally grateful for His unconditional love not only for me but for all that I love as well...

Having said all that, the last thing that I will be forever thankful for in 2009 is if I win this Moleskine Daily Planner ;)

Thursday, January 01, 2009

It's a brand new year and almost everyone I know is thinking about what is in store for them and for the world in 2009. But, I don't look that far ahead...I think that planning and then failing is too depressing...so, although I do follow a schedule, flexible at that...I always think and plan my life in terms of days...or if needed, 2-3 months max. I don't dwell on what if's or what could be...but that does not mean that I am not introspective or that I am impulsive...it just means that I don't worry about it. The fact is I am a cautious and deliberate person...I don't do things without thinking of consequences...and because I am like this, I believe that nothing happens by chance. So my wish for 2009 is that it will be a year of happy consequences for me, my loved ones, my work and the people I work with.Happy New Year!!!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

January 2008 is halfway over and I have spent most of the first 2 weeks of the year doing, thinking, planning NOTHING. Somehow I could not bring myself to focus on anything. Not that there is nothing to focus on, on the contrary, there are so many things to do...so much more important that what I am wasting my time on. There are issues to face, conflicts to resolve, problems to work out, finances to manage, meetings to attend to...in other words, RESPONSIBILITIES that I have to face sooner than later. But, everyday I wake up not wanting to do anything constructive. Well, I have always been a procrastinator but this time...I just can't get my energy and concentration up. It's like...what am I doing all this for...why am I doing this? And the answers I get do not excite me at all because they are reasons that tell me because I have to...not because I want to... But, if I continue being like this and January 2008 ends with me still sleepwalking, I'm afraid that I might never wake up in the next 11 months. So, today, I resolve to get my groove back...once again focus and concentrate on finding meaning in the things that I do, to find joy in what I am doing, to be able to go on everyday and not give up because I know that the end result will be good. I know I can do it...I just have to start prioritizing and begin doing! RIGHT NOW.

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I am a member of the working class, first and foremost: a daughter, a mom, an auntie, a sister, a physician, a caregiver, the family driver and troubleshooter, house princess, devoted nurturer, concerned meddler, accidental blogger etc. I am not religious but I am a true Roman Catholic. I have great faith and trust in God's love and mercy.

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